


Her Mother's Voice

by Ecrivaisseur



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen, Past Abuse, References to Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-28
Updated: 2015-10-28
Packaged: 2018-04-28 16:50:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5098061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ecrivaisseur/pseuds/Ecrivaisseur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One-shot. Regina watches as her mother returns to the land of the living.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Her Mother's Voice

**Author's Note:**

> In honor of the announcement that Barbara Hershey is returning as Cora for 5.12, I decided to do a small one-shot on how Cora could come back to the show.

One-Shot

"Her Mother's Voice" 

A great, terrible, thundering storm had gathered in the sky overhead. The brightest of day had drained away, giving in to the windstorm that had suddenly appeared; an ominous mixture of grays and blacks now painting the sky. The wind picked up, quickly and fast-paced, carrying with it anything that decorated the ground: leaves, grass. Anything and everything.

“What the-?” Regina muttered to herself, looking up at the growing storm, before noticing that the leather-bound book she held in her hands - the book of magic she had found in her mother’s things ages ago back in the Enchanted Forrest - was now shaking violently. The pages held by the book, various dark magic spells and chants written on each, were now flapping back and forth fiercely.

Regina was forced to quickly grab the sides of the book or else it would’ve surely been caught up in the tremendous whirlwind of the aggressive storm.

The wind, already rapid as it was, increased more and more in speed, causing the lady to be nearly knocked to the ground herself. Slamming the book shut, Regina stored it carefully between her arm and her body as she attempted to retreat further back into the forrest for protection from the storm.

The branches of a tree snapped from behind Regina, and, barely missing her, were taken away in the terror of the winds.

_The storm was picking up._

Almost losing her balance, Regina took support up against one of the other trees and looked up at the raging storm. From seemingly out of nowhere, the storm appeared to be colliding together into one immense, horrifying cyclone, swirling down from the sky onto the ground. Lighting struck, shattering the sound waves, and the ground shook as the twister fell down.

But it didn’t move. The tornado remained motionless, fixated in one patch of the open space in the forest where Regina was, tearing up the ground it covered.

Regina didn’t know what to do. She didn’t even what _it was_.

The storms didn’t cease, nor did the terrifying winds, but the twister still remained motionless - like a enormous drill penetrating into the earth.

Regina felt a tugging at her side and noticed an oozing, purple smoke flowing out of the magic book, and directly towards the twister, which looked as though it were sucking it right out of the leather-binds of the book. It was magic, and the tornado was feeding on it.

And, as if that weren’t odd enough, the winds picked up even more, causing Regina to cling with both hands onto the tree, and, as she did so, her eyes focused in on the monster that was going off in front of her. She was able to make out a dark image that was slowly rising up inside of the tornado. It seemed to be growing on the magic coming out of the book, which, despite her best effort, Regina couldn’t seem to stop.

Between the raging winds and violence of the storm, she was able to get a closer glimpse of what was forming inside: _it was the figure of a human._

A human, surely unearthly and not of this world, was being transported by this twister.

Just then, before she could see anymore, an explosion rose from thin-air and rippled through the forrest, launching Regina and the magic book backwards against another tree. Crashing into the thick bark of the tree, Regina ricochetted off of it and onto the grassy ground of the earth.

The magic book fell out of her hands, and off somewhere else, out of her reach.

But, as the explosion rolled through, the storm ended, suddenly. All that remained what the dark, murky figure that Regina had seen growing inside the windy beast. It remained motionless, just like the twister had been, as if a statue. No movement arose from the being. . . not even that of a breath.

This _thing_ was no human.

Regina pushed herself up off the ground and she stepped closer to get a better look at the thing. This was something like she had never experienced before. . . ever. But, as she grew nearer and near to it, her vision began to grow more clearer. The figure had it’s back to Regina, preventing it from seeing her.

Regina was going to use that to her advantage, and she took a fireball into her hand. She was sure the element of surprise was, at least on her hand-

“Regina. . .” the figure suddenly said as the woman took a step forward. “ _Regina_ ,” it said again, this time more loudly, and more clearly, than before. The words stopped Regina in her tracks and the fireball in her palm evaporated instantly.

It was a voice all-too familiar to Regina. The first voice she had ever heard in the world; the voice that had been there during all of her childhood; the voice that had raised her; the voice that had, at any chance it got, manipulated and used her; the voice that, the last time she had heard it, had said 'you would’ve been enough'.

The voice of the nefarious Cora Mills. The voice of her _mother_.

“ _M-mother_?” Regina quivered as she always did to that voice. “Mother, is that you?”

The figure turned to greet her, revealing herself to be none-other-than Regina’s dearly departed mother. “Yes,” Cora said simply, still remaining in her stance. “It’s me, my love.” Now that Regina heard her voice again, she noticed an emptiness about it.

It was a voice devoid of life.

Her mother looked seamless and flawless, just like she had looked when she died in Regina’s arms. Her skin was still life-like, despite being a slighter, more paler shade of color; her eyes were still their same, vibrant shine, with a little less luster than usual; and her lips were still their thick, red color, with slightly less life. Her dark auburn hair was coiffed in it’s usual bun and, despite the massive winds that had brought her here, not a single piece of hair was out of place atop her head.

 The only ominous thing about Cora Mills were the dark, black, coarse robes that decorated her body.

“W-what are you doing here, mother?” Regina whimpered. It was like seeing a ghost. “Y-you’re dead. . . how are you here? Where have you been?”

A slight laugh escaped the elder lady’s mouth. “The Underworld, my dear. That’s where I’ve been,” and, finally, she took a step, closer to Regina. “But I have come back, Regina. I _had_ to come back.” 


End file.
